The Vault at Pfaff'sWilliam Levison was a publisher most well known for his contributions to the New York Picayune and Nick-Nax. Records of Mr. Levison’s early life were preserved in the Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries. Mr. Levison was born in New Jersey and reportedly left his family to pursue comedy work in Philadelphia. However, he eventually left this profession due to a spinal illness. He later met his wife, Mary A. Levison, and entered the newspaper industry. Thomas Butler Gunn first spoke with Mr. Levison in 1852. However, Gunn would not become a collaborator of Mr. Levison’s until 1853, when he [Gunn] was hired for the Picayune. Solomon Eytinge and Jesse Haney were also brought onto the Picayune, as was Frank Henry Temple Bellew. This working relationship led to Haney and Mr. Levison’s business partnership in the successful launch of Nick-Nax, which employed Gunn for his illustrations. Mr. Levison was loosely acquainted with Fitz-James O’Brien and Charles Gayler. Allie Vernon (Margaret Eytinge) was another collaborator of Mr. Levison’s. His working involvement with both Vernon and Eytinge would later pull him into the spectacle surrounding their tumultuous romantic relationship.
Mr. Levison was a known family man. His wife, Mary A. Levison, and daughter, Ellen, were central to the mentions of Mr. Levison in Thomas Butler Gunn’s diaries. Ellen and Mr. Levison tragically passed away just weeks apart in 1857. Gunn was among the Pfaffians who took to Mr. Levison’s bedside during his final days: "His weaknesses will be forgotten but his generally kindly nature will constrain all who knew him to think greatly of him. Remembering his antecedents and surroundings it is a wonder to think how good he was" (vol. 8, p. 155).